The originalHalois one of the most influential and creative video games of the past few decades. The first person shooter mechanics helped define the way the genre would be played on consoles and the sci-fi exploration setting was glorious. But in many ways, the following games in the franchise, and especially the more recent titles, have lacked in any groundbreaking features and gameplay ideas.Halo Infinitecan change this.
While the story may be just as intricate, the multiplayer fun and addictive, and the universe interesting, the series itself has fallen into a cookie-cutter like formula. However, the newestHalogame has the chance to deliver on the promise of the original, and the name itself invokes said boundless opportunity.Halo: Infinitecan be a true space exploration game.
343 Industries, the game’s developer, has confirmed that aHalo: Infinitereveal is on the way in July. Thus far, the details on the title are scarce, as trailers are pretty much all that fans have received thus far, along with small hints from the devs.
RELATED:Will Halo Infinite Offer a Multiplayer Beta?
WhileHalo 5was a success, many are hoping thatInfinitewill be more. That “more” could be space travel. The idea of being able to fly from planet to planet, without any lag and without any load time, could give players a freeing feeling thatHalodeserves. A fewHalotitles have gone outside the box successfully with gameplay and mechanics,Infinitecould be the next to do so.
Succesful Halo Games that Broke The Mold
Halo ODSTwas perhaps the first game in the series to break the traditional mold. Instead of playing as the Master Chief, a super-soldier saving the world with amazing powers and abilities, players control an ODST soldier and must use stealth and precision over power and superweapons.ODSTwas both epic and intimate, and it was an excellent game; it very much felt different from standardHalogames. It was also the first game to implement Firefight, the co-op PVE wavebased made forHalo.
Halo Reach, Bungie’s lastHalogame before it moved ontoDestiny, has another game to differ from the regularHaloexperience. Taking place before the Master Chief’s adventures,Reach’s plot was about Noble Team, some of the last Spartans. In addition to being a story outside of the Chief,Reachhad a remarkable and beloved space missionthat felt like something out ofStar Wars.
Of course, theHaloseries has also seen a few spin-offs as well, with the likes ofHalo WarsandHalo: Spartan Assault. When it comes to the most lovedHalogames, it’s not just the standard Master Chief and Cortana adventures that are popular, even asInfinitelooks to follow that story arc. Games likeODSTandReach,with their varied gameplay, are considered classics by fans and favored even overHalo 4and5by many, for example.
Why Planet to Planet Space Travel is Perfect for Halo
Traditionally,Halocampaigns are set up in a very old-school fashion, with each level being able to be selected and playable on varying difficulties. However, it may be time to change some of that.Infinitecould be the perfect time to allowHaloto have almost an open world feeling, at least when it comes to traversing the universe.Halo Infinitehas the opportunity to bring the best from the older games, and it should, but it can also innovate.
WhenNo Man’s Skywas first revealed, many fans marveled at the idea of being able to travel from planet to planet without a hiccup. It’s something that fans have imagined in games for decades, but really haven’t been able to do. Although the game has improved,No Man’s Skyis still lacking in the DNA of a core gameplay experience likeHalo, where players would be able to travel from one planet to the next for legitimate missions.Infinitecould pull this off and give the Master Chief a reason to traverse the worlds seemlessly.
In the case ofInfinite, the Master Chief’s ship could be like his hub. Choosing a mission would mean that that location would appear on the map, and players would be able to fly that planet without issue. Because difficulty and “skulls” for the purpose of multipliers are still so important to players, those things can still be applied before a mission is started, but now players would simply use the ship to fly to where they need to. For a game about space, for a game about sci-fi wars taking place over multiple generations, the scale feels quite small in some ways. With truly seemless space exploration, the possibilities are indeed infinite.
Halo Infinitewill release Holiday 2020 for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
